Appeal for witnesses and CCTV footage following Winsford arson incidents

Detectives are appealing for witnesses and CCTV footage after three vehicles were targeted by arsonists in Winsford.

Between Friday 3 April and Sunday 5 April emergency services were called to three separate incidents in which cars had been deliberately set on fire.

The incidents, which all took place in the early hours of the morning, were in close proximity to each other.

The first incident, which occurred at around 1am on Friday 3 April, saw a grey Renault Scenic set alight outside an address in Austin Close.

Just over 24 hours later, at 3.35am on Saturday 4 April, a silver Vauxhall Zafira parked on a driveway was set on fire in Chiltern Way.

The final incident, which was reported at 3.22am on Sunday 5 April, occurred in Chilham Close.

As well as writing off a black Vauxhall Mokka parked on a driveway, the deliberately set fire damaged the front of a house and caused an occupier to require treatment for smoke inhalation.

Enquiries in relation to the incidents are ongoing and detectives are urging anyone with information or footage that may help their investigation to come forward.

Detective Constable John Corrigan, of Northwich CID, said: “The investigation into these incidents is ongoing and we are doing all that we can to trace the people responsible.

“Patrols have been stepped up in the area to provide reassurance and as part of our enquiries I want to hear from anyone with information or video footage which may aid our investigation.

“Perhaps you live in the area and witnessed one the incidents or saw anything suspicious around the time it occurred.

“I also ask people who live in the area to check their CCTV cameras to see if they have any footage of possible suspects.

“At the current time there shouldn’t be many people out and about, so it should be easy to review the footage and spot anything unusual.”

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Gus O’Rouke, of Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, added: “Deliberate fires are extremely dangerous and totally irresponsible, particularly at the current time.

“They put the lives of both the public and firefighters at considerable risk.

“As a result of these incidents our firefighters were tied up for more than three hours, meaning that they were unable to deal with real emergencies, such as house fires.

“They also tie up police resources in terms of investigating arson incidents and trying to bring offenders to account for their actions.”

Anyone with information or footage that may be relevant to the investigations should call Cheshire Constabulary on 101, quoting IML 675190, or give the details via https://www.cheshire.police.uk/ro/report.

Alternatively, information can be reported to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.